


And Dark Waters

by stormageddondarklordofbuns



Series: Of Ocean Tides [2]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Selkie AU, Swimming AU, back at it again boys, ill add warnings as i go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-18 06:56:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21840136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormageddondarklordofbuns/pseuds/stormageddondarklordofbuns
Summary: Neil Josten has started to make a place for himself with Palmetto State University's Swim team.  But with a team in shambles, a past creeping around the corner, and a demented super star out for his skin, that place seems tenuous at best.  At least he still has the water - he'll still probably get himself killed though.
Relationships: Allison Reynolds/Renee Walker (All For The Game), Matt Boyd/Danielle "Dan" Wilds, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Series: Of Ocean Tides [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1370548
Comments: 22
Kudos: 153





	And Dark Waters

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again, friends and welcome to Part Two.

Neil Josten let his cigarette hang out the window as Nicky drove their group back to Palmetto after a sleepy Sunday morning spent nursing hangovers. In the back seat, Aaron and Kevin were napping against their respective windows. A freshly medicated Andrew leaned forward against the center console to egg Nicky on as he ranted about his classes and annoying classmates. Neil tried to pay attention to Nicky, but his mind kept wandering ahead of them to campus, wondering what state they would find the rest of the team in. They hadn’t had any contact with the upperclassmen since Saturday evening, so if Riko had dealt any retaliation for the embarrassment at Kathy’s morning show, the Monsters hadn’t felt the ripples yet.

Every now and then, a tap to Neil’s shoulder would break him from his thoughts and prompt him to pass the smoke to Andrew for a quick drag. The drive passed quickly like that with music barely audible over Nicky’s verbal stream of conscious and the wind playfully tugging at Neil’s hair. He braced himself—for what he didn’t know—as the dorm came into view. Nothing seemed out of place as Nicky pulled into the parking lot and cut the engine. Aaron woke as soon as they came to a stop, and Andrew took great delight in poking and prodding at Kevin until he woke groggily with a muttered curse.

Making their way to the dorm, Neil let himself relax until Renee came out to meet them. As Nicky called out a cheerful greeting, he wondered idly if he was the only one to notice the tension in her frame. Seeing Andrew tense behind the manic grin out of the corner of his eye told him he wasn’t. When they get close enough, Neil noted with interest that Renee was actively struggling to keep her sweet mask in place even as she smiled gently at the others. “Andrew,” she greet softly, “up for a spare?”

Andrew’s smile tightened as he looked over his group and Neil followed his gaze while offering, “I can make sure they get up to the room.” Aaron huffed as though to protest the need, but Neil tilted his head in Kevin’s direction with a pointed gaze to cut off any argument.

“That would be helpful, Neil, thank you,” Renee said in Andrew’s place. “If you would like to join us after, we’ll be in Room 4 in the basement.” The offer caught him off guard and by the way Andrew’s head whipped around to stare at her, he wasn’t the only one. Neil couldn’t decipher her heavy gaze just then so he simply nodded and watched the two of them disappear inside.

“What was that about?” Aaron asked as he led the others inside ahead of Neil.

Neil shrugged as they all piled into the elevator. “I have no idea. She probably needs to bitch about Gordon or something.”

Nicky laughed incredulously, “Renee? Bitch? Are we talking about the same person?”

Neil blinked twice at him as he tried to process that bit of stupidity. “Everyone has to vent sometime, Nicky. Expecting her to not let out her frustration sometimes is like us expecting you to be happy all the time. It’s not healthy.” _And she might kill someone if she snaps._

The elevator fell quiet as the others seemed to process that. The doors opened to reveal their empty hallway, and Neil herded the group into their dorm room. Kevin immediately made his way to the bedroom and Neil watched through the doorway as he slowly fell face down onto his bed. Aaron and Nicky sunk into their respective beanbags while their game console booted up with a whir.

Satisfied that they wouldn’t wander off any time soon, Neil turned back towards the door while calling over his shoulder, “Aaron, you’re in charge of the giants. Don’t die while I’m gone.” He only got a muffled snort in the return though Nicky shouted something about having fun after him.

It didn’t take him long to get down to the basement and he let the sounds of a scuffle lead him to Room 4. Neil wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it wasn’t the sight before him. Andrew and Renee were slowly circling each other, each armed with one of the knives that Neil recognized from Andrew’s armbands. As he watched, Renee lunged forward with a swipe which Andrew easily parried only to move forward with a strike of his own. They stepped around each other elegantly in an intricate dance with potentially deadly consequences if one were to miss a step.

Neil settled down by the door with his back against the wall to watch on in interest. They traded hits and kicks while dodging swipes from their blades easily. Andrew was good—for a human—but as the fight went on, Neil could see Renee’s frustration build. A particularly vicious kick to Andrew’s solar plexus sent him stumbling back as Renee barred her teeth with a snarl. As she started to move in for a finishing blow, Neil hit his fist harshly against the door at his side.

Her gaze snapped from Andrew’s wheezing form to catch Neil’s gaze. He slowly rose from his seated position and stepped forward. “Mind if I tag in?”

Andrew laughed breathlessly from the side. “You think you can do better, fish and chips?”

“Not better, but I think a change of pace is in order, don’t you?” he asked without taking his eyes from the monster considering him hungrily.

Renee huffed out harshly with a nod and Andrew sauntered over with a grin to offer his knife to Neil. He waved him off as he stepped towards Renee. She dropped her knife in turn and lunged for him with fists clenched. Neil sidestepped into her defense and the fight started in earnest. Where Renee and Andrew had been dancing, this was a different beast entirely. There was a desperate edge in her movements that hadn’t been there before—an anger that Neil had known was lurking underneath but had yet to see so starkly. He met her with equal viciousness, trading hits for the slightest advantage in position, exposing weaknesses for half a chance to discover hers, feeling bruises blossom even as he inflicted them in return.

By the time they stepped back, they were both breathing harshly. Neil noted with satisfaction that though her mask was still nowhere in sight, the anger had dissipated from her frame. A slow clap from the side brought their attention to a grinning Andrew. Once he had their attention, he tossed a water bottle at each of them from his place on the floor. Neil wiped the sweat from his face with the sleeve of his t-shirt and downed the water in short order. He followed Renee as she settled in front of Andrew while slowly sipping her own water.

“And just where did a runner like you learn to fight like that?” Andrew asked as soon as Neil sat.

“Did you think I was bluffing when I said I could protect myself?”

Andrew’s face twitched in agitation even as the drugs kept his smile firmly in place. “Seeing as two people have punched you in as many days, yes.”

“It’s an easy distraction,” Neil shrugged off.

“I’m telling Aaron you said that.” Renee chuckled between them, effectively drawing Andrew’s attention away. “Is the good little Christian girl ready to talk?”

Neil snorted at that bit of nonsense as Renee shook her head in seemingly good humor. “I’m sorry about that. It was a rough night.”

“How so?” Neil asked curiously.

Renee shook her head again with a deep sigh. “I managed to keep Seth and Allison in the dorm last night though not without them getting into another fight. Allison was willing to stay in, but Seth was pretty adamant about going out.”

“And let me guess,” Andrew cut in, “you didn’t let him.”

“No, I didn’t. The fight distracted him pretty effectively, but he was absolutely horrible to Allison.” Her grip tightened around her water bottle. “It got worse when Seth’s old dealer came around. Seth had told Allison that he’d cut contact with him.”

“Seth’s been mostly clean for a while now other than his antidepressants,” Andrew stated flatly.

“Yes, he has,” Renee nodded solemnly. She caught Neil’s eye as she continued, “The dealer seemed strangely intent on selling some new product to Seth. When I asked what it was, he wouldn’t say.” Neil perked up at her loaded look. “It was almost as if he himself didn’t know.”

“Did you manage to talk to him anymore?” Neil asked.

She shook her head slowly, “I didn’t want to chance leaving the others in case he wasn’t alone.”

Neil wondered aloud, “You think he was paid off to sell something questionable to Seth. To kill him or are we going to be subject to a drug test sometime soon? We all know what kind of say Tetsuji has over the board.”

“To kill him,” Andrew said cheerily. “A ‘randomized’ drug test to disqualify a member just doesn’t send the same message as an unexpected funeral.”

“Andrew,” Renee said sharply, though it looked like she agreed. “Regardless of intent, I have to thank you, Neil. You very well may have saved Seth’s life last night.”

“I didn’t do it for free,” Neil said slowly.

“Of course,” Renee said easily. “Whatever you need.”

He waved her off, “I’ll let you know when I have use of you.”

Andrew’s cackled belied the intense scrutiny behind his eyes, “That blasé attitude toward life and death situations does not bode well for your sanity, Flipper.”

“Nothing about you bodes well for your sanity, kettle.”

Renee laughed gently at their byplay as her sweet façade settled back in place. “Well, Pot and Kettle, I should get back to my ‘ducklings’,” she said, nudging Neil gently as she rose gracefully to her feet. “Thank you both for the wonderful workout.”

“Sure. Go let Allison put some ice on that,” Andrew said slyly, gesturing to the blooming bruise on her right cheek. As her cheeks lightly flushed, Neil could almost see the sweetness that so easily fooled the Foxes. They both followed her out and into the elevator then continued on to the Monsters’ room as she veered off to enter her own.

Nicky and Aaron were both yelling at whatever video game was on the screen when they entered the dorm. Andrew didn’t spare them a glance on his way to the bedroom to check on Kevin while Neil walked right in front of the screen to slowly collapse on the floor in front of their beanbags with an exaggerated groan. He took a fierce joy in the shouts of agitation from the cousins as he momentarily blocked the TV and had to stifle his laugh in the carpet. His prone form was lightly kicked by two sets of feet while they scrambled to finish their match.

“Fuck you, Neil,” Nicky laughed as he threw down his controller, evidently having lost the game as Aaron yelled in triumph.

He rolled over onto his back with the next kick that connected and didn’t bother to quiet his snickers. Aaron let out an explosive sigh when he caught sight of Neil’s face. “Is Andrew as bad as you are right now?” he asked, gesturing to Neil’s face.

“Probably,” Neil shrugged off.

With another sigh, Aaron got his feet, presumably to hunt down a couple of ice packs. Nicky stayed put but shook his head in disappointment as he watched Neil poke at his new bruises. “Such a shame to let a face like that get all banged up.”

Neil snorted, “Not like I’m using it for anything else.”

“That’s just sad.”

An ice pack landing on his stomach cut off any reply he might have had. He looked up to thank Aaron only to see him retreating back to the bedroom with another pack clutched in his hand. Neil brought the pack to his ribs where Renee had caught him with a particularly harsh jab and let his mind drift as he heard Aaron return to start up a new game with Nicky.

* * *

Practice Monday was a tense affair. Wymack spent the majority of practice on the phone, trying to gauge the fallout from ‘Neil’s stupid-ass stunt on that goddamn show’. Gordon and Reynolds were still clearly on the outs and made a concentrated effort to pull everyone else into their drama. The upperclassmen were actively trying to stay out of it while Nicky and Aaron amused themselves by making snide comments designed to egg them on. Kevin looked ready to tear his hair out at every disruption so, naturally, Andrew gleefully attempted to push him over the edge by being as contrary as possible.

Neil spent as much of the practice as ‘humanly’ ( _ha_ ) possible underwater to escape the inanity.

Tuesday was shaping up to be much the same as they stretched out in the foyer when Wymack came out of his office while on the phone, “—Wymack, Palmetto State University. Say again? Hold on.” He muted the call with a press of a button and turned sharply to where Andrew was lazily starfished on the floor. “Andrew Joseph Minyard, what the flying fuck have you done now?”

“It wasn’t me! It was the one-armed man!” Andrew said with his arms spread like that would somehow indicate his innocence.

Wymack stomped over to his supine form and pointed the phone at him, “The police are on the phone for you. Now, do you want to tell me what the hell you did this time or should I hear it from them?”

“It wasn’t me. Ask my doppelganger,” he said pointing expansively to a disgruntled Aaron.

With a suspicious look, Wymack unmuted the call and lifted the phone to his ear. “What did you say the problem was, Officer…Higgins, was it?”

“Oh. No, Coach,” Andrew said quietly and shot to his feet. Wymack tried to move out of range, but Andrew snatched his wrist to pluck the phone from his hand. He stared at the phone in his hand as if he’d never seen technology before.

“Don’t make him wait all day,” Wymack huffed.

Andrew hesitated another moment and turned slightly to share a questioning glance with Aaron. Slowly, he raised the receiver to his ear, “Pig Higgins, is that you? Oh, it is. Did you forget I don’t like surprises?” Andrew asked. “Oh, no don’t stall. You didn’t track me down after all this time to chat. What do you want?” He listened for a moment, then said, “No,” and hung up.

The phone rang again almost immediately. Andrew picked it up, “What? No, I wouldn’t hang up on you. What—no, shut up.” He hung up again. Whoever this ‘Higgins’ was, he was persistent enough to call a third time. The team had stopped stretching one by one to watch the spectacle play out. Andrew wandered away a bit to lean against the wall and let the phone in his hand ring five times before he picked up again. “Talk to me.”

He clapped his hand over his other ear as he listened to Higgins. Whatever he was saying couldn’t be good as it visibly cut through Andrew’s drug-induced mania. His grip on the phone tightened and his focus zeroed in on Aaron as his foot started tapping. By the time Higgins was apparently done, Andrew’s smile was long gone.

“Wait, go back,” Andrew finally said. “Who complained? Oh, Pig, don’t give me the runaround. I know where you work, you see? And that means there’s a child in her house. She isn’t supposed to—what? No, don’t ask me that. I said, don’t. Leave me alone.” He raised his voice to be heard over whatever the cop was saying, “Hey, if you call me again, I’ll kill you.” He hung up a final time and looked at the phone in his hand for a quiet moment before hurling it into the wall. Everyone jumped in unison as Wymack started to curse. Andrew paid him no mind and started to laugh.

“What’s funny?” Nicky asked tentatively. “What’d we miss?”

“Oh, nothing,” Andrew waved off through his giggles.

“Nothing, my ass,” Wymack scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. “What kind of trouble are you in?”

“Oh, I’m not the one in trouble, coach. Higgins just wanted to catch up.”

“You bullshit me one more time and we’re going to have a problem. Why was Oakland PD calling you?”

“It’s mostly the truth,” Andrew said breezily while making his way toward the entrance. “Me and Pig go way back. He worked with the PAL program for ‘at-risk’ kids. Thought he could save them by teaching them sports. Real bleeding heart. You can relate, no?”

“Why would he be calling now?” Wymack tried to step in his way. “You left Oakland three years ago.”

“And isn’t it so sweet that he remembers little old me?” Andrew side-stepped his bulk. “That’s enough for today, I think. I’ll see you tomorrow, Coach.”

“And just where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Wymack asked as he once again tried to halt Andrew’s progress.

“I’m leaving. Didn’t I just say that I’d see you tomorrow?”

Dan piped up from her place on the floor, “You can’t just leave. We have a meet Friday.”

“Ask me if I care,” Andrew waved off over his shoulder.

Kevin stood agitatedly, “Andrew. Stop this nonsense. You’re staying.”

Andrew turned slowly, his smile growing to painful size, “Tell me again what I can and can’t do, Day. If you make me go into that Arena today, I will take myself out of it. Permanently.”

When Kevin started to advance with an indignant huff, Andrew spun quickly around Wymack and punched the wall hard enough to split knuckle. He reared back to hit it again, but his progress was halted by both Wymack and Kevin gripping onto his arm. Andrew froze so violently that Neil felt an echoing ache at this sight.

“Let him go,” Neil said sternly. Wymack and Kevin looked at him as if he were insane, but he didn’t waiver.

As soon as he was released, Andrew moved out the door without a backward glance. An uneasy silence settled over the foyer until Wymack turned to Aaron with a scowl, “What the fuck was that?”

“I don’t know,” Aaron said with a helpless shrug.

“Don’t you try to bullshit me, too.”

“I don’t!” Aaron said louder. “I don’t know why Higgins would be calling. Either call him back or take it up with Andrew. He was Andrew’s mentor, not mine. I only met the guy once.”

“Well, he must have left an impression if you still remember him.”

Nicky started as if struck and looked at Aaron intently, “Oh. Is he--?”

“Yeah,” Aaron nodded. “He’s the one who told me I had a brother.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello! It has been a while! I'm back on my bullshit with part two of the Selkie au. If you've not read part one, I'm not sure how you made it to the end of the chapter and understood everything. If you HAVE read part one, Hello again, Friend!
> 
> Once again, my life will always be an on-fire garbage can so updates are infrequent, but we'll get this baby churned out eventually! Consider the start of part two a holiday gift. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a few chapters done before holiday breaks ends (for those keeping up with my life, yes I'm back in school. Again.)
> 
> As always, if you're back after keeping with me during part one, thank you sosososo much for the support. If you're new to this journey, welcome to the shit show! You can find me at that-one-smartass on tumblr if I need to tag anything/make glaring mistakes/you want to yell at me.
> 
> Much Love!!


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